10 Tips For Open Source Citizens | Intridea Blog

Get Involved. This is the obvious first step: participation. Start building a presence on the mailing list, bug tracker or other community resources for your favorite open source projects. Respect the Gift. Remember that even when an open source library is causing you frustration that this is something that someone else built and released, free of charge, to try to help developers like you. Do your best to always stay civil and keep your comments constructive. Nothing takes the wind out of an open source project's sails faster than harsh criticism. Harsh words can sometimes be enough to completely dissolve the creator's interest in continuing the project. Respect the Resources. By and large open source developers aren't getting paid to maintain libraries full time. If you feel like a project is too slow-moving, maybe there's a way that you could help free up the creator's ...